2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
These are notes I took while studying each NCAA Tournament team. Most of this is unedited. I’ll have a more coherent breakdown in my NCAA Tournament picks.
Cincinnati (25-8)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, Jr, Fr, Fr, Sr, Sr
WHY TO LOVE: Elite defense (15th).
Road record: 8-4. Quality road wins: Marquette, Georgetown, St. John’s.
WHY TO HATE: Average offense (55th).
Head coach Mick Cronin has never won an NCAA Tournament game (0-2).
Connecticut (26-9)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, So, Fr, Fr, Fr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Great offense (22nd).
Good defense (32nd).
Kemba Walker is the top player in the country.
Road record: 5-5 Quality road wins: Cincinnati, Marquette, Texas.
WHY TO HATE: Kemba Walker is the only consistent scorer on the Huskies.
Five of Connecticut’s top six scorers are underclassmen. Three are freshman. There are no prominent seniors on the roster.
Could be tired after expending all of their energy in the Big East Tournament (i.e. Syracuse, 2006).
Low margin of victory (7.2 ppg) and doesn’t score enough (73.5) to qualify as an NCAA Champion.
Only five conference wins of 15+ ppg.
Georgetown (21-10)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Sr, Jr, Sr, So, Fr
WHY TO LOVE: Good offense (27th).
Road record: 8-5 Quality road wins: Syracuse, Villanova, Memphis, Missouri
WHY TO HATE: Average defense (51st).
Point guard Chris Wright is injured. No real point guard as a replacement.
Lazy team tends to let down its guard against weaker opponents.
1-5 to close out the season.
John Thompson III is only 7-6 in the NCAA Tournament event hough he’s coached some really talented teams.
Lost opening conference tournament game.
Louisville (25-9)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Jr, So, Jr, Jr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Elite defense (4th).
Good offense (36th).
Four of their top five scorers are upperclassmen.
Six conference wins of 15+ points.
WHY TO HATE: 4-6 road record (wins vs. Rutgers, Connecticut, Western Kentucky, South Florida)
Marquette (20-14)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Jr, Jr, Sr, Fr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (19th).
WHY TO HATE: Mediocre defense (71st).
4-7 road record (wins vs. Connecticut, South Florida, Rutgers, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Seton Hall)
Notre Dame (26-6)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Sr, Sr, Sr, Sr, Fr
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (3rd).
5-5 in road games. Quality road wins: Pitt, Connecticut.
WHY TO HATE: Below-average defense (63rd).
Mike Brey’s record in the NCAA Tournament is just 5-8, and he’s been past the second round only once.
Only five conference wins of 15+ points.
Pittsburgh (27-5)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, Sr, Sr, Jr, Sr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (5th).
Great defense (21st).
7-2 road record. Quality road wins: Villanova, West Virginia, Georgetown.
WHY TO HATE: This team has a dubious history of getting upset early in the Big Dance…
In 2005, the Panthers lost in the first round to Pacific. In 2006, they lost in the second round as a No. 5 seed to No. 13 Bradley. A year later, Pittsburgh struggled against Virginia Commonwealth before losing to UCLA in the Sweet 16. In 2008, the team went down to Michigan State in the second round. In 2009, the Panthers were upset in the Elite Eight as one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament. And last year, they lost in the second round to Xavier.
Most NCAA Champions score 76+ ppg. Pittsburgh averages 74 ppg.
Only five conference wins of 15+ points.
Lost opening conference tournament game. No team that lost its opening conference-tournament game has won the national championship since 1985.
St. John’s (21-11)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Sr, Sr, Sr, Sr, Fr
WHY TO LOVE: Good defense (36th).
Above-average offense (48th).
Dwight Hardy is one of the top players in the country.
The team’s top five scorers are all seniors.
Steve Lavin is 11-6 in NCAA Tournament games. He constantly led UCLA to at least the Sweet 16.
WHY TO HATE: Road record: 5-7 but many quality road wins: Villanova, Marquette, Cincinnati, West Virginia.
Syracuse (26-7)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Jr, Sr, Jr, So, Fr, Fr
WHY TO LOVE: Elite offense (17th).
Elite defense (16th).
6-3 road record. Quality road wins: Georgetown, Villanova, Connecticut, St. John’s.
WHY TO HATE: Only four conference wins of 15+ points.
NCAA Champions average 76 ppg. Syracuse averages 74 ppg.
Villanova (21-11)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Sr, So, Sr, So, So
WHY TO LOVE: Great offense (23rd).
7-5 road record. Quality road wins: Syracuse.
WHY TO HATE: Mediocre defense (57th).
Cold finish yet again: 2-7 in final nine games.
Lost opening conference tournament game. No team that lost its opening conference-tournament game has won the national championship since 1985.
West Virginia (20-11)
EXPERIENCE: Top six scorers: Sr, Jr, Jr, Sr, Sr, So
WHY TO LOVE: Good defense (29th).
Good offense (31st).
WHY TO HATE: Since 1997, here’s what happened whenever Huggins took a 25-plus win team into the NCAA Tournament: 2nd Round, 2nd Round, 2nd Round, 2nd Round, Sweet 16, 2nd Round, 2nd Round, 2nd Round, Sweet 16, Final Four. Huggins’ NCAA Tournament record since 1997 is a mediocre 11-11.
5-6 road record. Quality road wins: Cincinnati, Georgetown.
Lost opening conference tournament game. No team that lost its opening conference-tournament game has won the national championship since 1985.
2011 NCAA Tournament Picks:
Sweet 16 Redo | East | West | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Winning Tips | 2011 NCAA Tournament Home
2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdowns:
West | East | Southwest | Southeast | Final Four | Schedule
2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Breakdowns:
West | Southeast |
2011 NCAA Tournament Preview:
ACC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Mid-Majors | Mountain West | Pac 10 | SEC
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